Higher Education Development in Pakistan

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The development objective of Higher Education Development Project for Pakistan is to support research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improve teaching and learning and strengthen governance, in the higher education sector. This project has five components. 1) The first component, Nurturing Academic Excellence in Strategic Sectors, aims to help promote relevant and cutting-edge research in universities in Pakistan, with a focus on specific strategic sectors for the country’s socioeconomic progress. It has the following subcomponents: (i) Promoting Innovative and Relevant Research; (ii) Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Self-employment; and (iii) Local Challenge Funds. 2) The second component, Supporting Decentralized Higher Education Institutes for Improved Teaching and Learning, aims to improve the quality of education delivered by Tier 2 universities and Affiliated colleges (ACs). It has the following subcomponents: (i) Strengthening the Affiliation System; (ii) Bringing Education in Affiliated Colleges and Affiliating Universities in line with International Best Practices; (iii) Improving the relevance of ACs to support the local socio-economic landscape; and (iv) Connecting Affiliated Colleges to Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN). 3) The third component, Equipping Students and Higher Education Institutions with Modern Technology, aims to leverage technology to improve the teaching, learning and research environment in Pakistan. It has the following subcomponents: (i) Improving the policy environment for ICT use; (ii) Enhancing PERN Activities; and (iii) Expanding PERN Vertically. 4) The fourth component, Higher Education Management Information System and Data Driven Services, aims to improve the collection and use of data for national level policy-decisions, while automating business processes in higher education institutions. It has the following subcomponents: (i) Higher Education Commission (HEC’s) Data Repository; and (ii) Digitization of University Administration. 5) The fifth component, Capacity Building through Partnerships, Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, aims to support HEC in strengthening its core functions of regulation, capacity building, and funding of Pakistan’s higher education sector through strategic and targeted Technical Assistance (TA).